1000 Hummingbirds Women’s Council ~ WHO WE AREWe are a Native/non-Native collaborative council of women, convened in truth by one little hummingbird.

Regional contamination of a People’s drinking water and no reasonable or effective Civic response; seemingly no recourse. Into such gross inequity, zips one little hummingbird.

The medicine of hummingbird is JOY. The essence of hummingbird is levity. The flight of a hummingbird seems to defy even physical laws. Hummingbird flits in, cuts through the immediacy of despair. What more powerful combination to address the Water sovereignty Question of Our Time? Indeed.

Ohlone elders thus moved; that a formal structure be activated and enacted here on Ohlone/Costanoan territory for the express purpose of applying collective wisdom to issues of environmental, social and economic equity.

The historic decision was made with acute awareness for the vulnerability of women, most particularly mothers, confronted with hazardous conditions that can only be resolved through broad collaborations and civic action.

We all share the horror of a child having nothing to drink but water that we have somehow polluted. Here is the water our children bathe in. Here is the water we drink. Here is Water, that IS our life-blood. This is where we begin, even as we know it is the web of life itself that is at stake.

1000 Hummingbird ‘All Women All Nations’ for the Waters of the Earth

“If ever the world sees a time when women shall come together purely and simply for the benefit of mankind, it will be a power such as the world has never known.”–Matthew Arnold, British poet and philosopher (1822-1888)

FOOTNOTE:May 2012 marked the 4th year of 1000 Hummingbirds International Women’s Gathering hosted in Ohlone territory – Thank you for your support!! It was soooo incredible! Pictures and comments can be found on FaceBook Group Page (request permission to join).

The first 1000 hummingbird gathering took place in Spring 2009 in Coyote Hills.

Grandmothers from First Nations made the journey from their Homelands.

And, by word of mouth the women came; inspired by hummingbird, representing every decade of womanhood, representing near and far distant shores. Just as the elders had envisioned, and in keeping with the spirit of hummingbird, a vibrant scene unfurled. Women came with stories, songs, food & medicine. Women came with profound gifts of healing to share.

Bright August Joy by Francene Hart

The uplifting nature of women gathered for an over-arching, life-enhancing common purpose, and drawing on the ancient ways that honor all Beings; the magnitude of this intention was felt and carried home, together with the knowledge that the Vision was now held by the many, and held close to the heart. The Weaving of a new Basket had begun.

The 1000 Hummingbird Council is charged with spanning nations and continents to facilitate open channels; international communication and effective response mechanisms, particularly when women; mothers with young children, Send A Voice. Too often, such a voice has gone unheard, when the situation required swift resolution for a pressing environmental/ economic travesty.

It’s about the water, it’s about that which supports and sustains life. It’s about the women; the mothers…

It’s about our babies and children and all that we hold dear.

1000 Hummingbird Council
A council of indigenous and other nation women, who convened in response to the 1000 Hummingbird Vision, received in the wake of a profound concern for indigenous families subject to regional contamination of their drinking water.

1000 Hummingbird Vision called for Women to step up for Water; for that which sustains All Life…; for All Peoples.

Ohlone/Costanoan elders came together and concurred that an ancient protocol be enacted; the women would be invited to gather for 4 consecutive years, hosted here in Ohlone/Costanoan territory for the express purpose of applying collective wisdom to issues of environmental, social and economic equity.

This historic decision was made with stark knowledge of the vulnerability of women, most particularly mothers, confronted with hazardous conditions that can only be resolved through broad collaborations and civic action.

HUMMINGBIRD ENCOUNTERS

When Hummingbird suddenly hovers right in our space like never before, we are inspired to something heretofore unimagined.

“Hover little Hummingbird
Your medicine is Huge in these
dire and beautiful times…”

“I am not an alarmist but I knew something significant was going on. I couldn’t be on my porch for more than a minute without the hummer hovering overhead; the tiniest of all birds…the only creature that can stop dead while traveling at full speed…hover or fly forward, backward, up, or down, its wings flapping at 50 times per second in the configuration of an eight, the sign for infinity.”A.L.

Hummingbird characteristics are every bit as impressive as high speed internet! A seed was planted that effectively convened the 1000 Hummingbird Council. Comparing notes after the coalition was formed with astonishing acuity, the common factors between a surprising number of the women who had been drawn together were these:

Movers and shakers in their own circles, especially in relation to social or environmental inequities

Phenomenal & sustained encounters with Hummingbirds

While repeated and widespread environmental degradation is certain cause for alarm, the tiny bird who inspired the formation of the council is not. The nature of this wingéd thing is that it is felt, by all accounts, as a gift of Joy whenever it flits in; a prolonged encounter with a Hummingbird will reverberate long after this tiny creature has zipped away on its 50-flaps-a-second wings.

“How do we love all the children of all species for all time?” Asked eco-architect William McDonough; The response, in the Hummingbird context, came literally as a download:

“1000 Hummingbird All Women All Nations Rebirthing Ceremony for the Healing of the Earth.”

May you be inspired to lift your heart, lift your voice and lift your energy. Step forward and with absolute purpose, find a way to heal and protect Earth using the skills already born within you. “Through every action there is a reaction.” Let your actions move others to reflect upon their own. The time is now! Do not delay.